John Cockburn ( ; – 12 November 1758) of

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 ...

, East Lothian, was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

from 1702 to 1707 and as a Whig in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

for 34 years from 1707 to 1741.

Life

Cockburn was the nephew of

Adam Cockburn of Ormiston Adam Cockburn, Laird of Ormiston, Lord Ormiston (1656 – 16 April 1735), was a Scottish administrator, politician and judge. He served as Commissioner for Haddington Constabulary in the parliaments of 1681-2 and 1689, and in the conventions ...

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

, who had no male heir and from whom he inherited the Ormiston estate in 1735. In 1736 he laid out the "model village" of

which was set up to encourage craft industries such as brewing, distilling and weaving. However, this, and his improvements to the estate as a whole, bankrupted Cockburn, and he was forced to sell the entire estate and village to the Charles Hope, the Earl of Hopetoun.Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.11 He is known as the father of Scottish

husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...

. In 1702, Cockburn became a

Shire Commissioner A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other ...

for Haddington in the

and took an active interest in accomplishing the union. He was the first representative of East Lothian in the parliament of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...

. He continued to hold that seat in all successive parliaments until 1741. He was one of the

Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

. Cockburn built Ormiston Hall on his estate at

. This last Cockburn of Ormiston was an enthusiastic entrepreneur and eventually ruined himself as a result of which his estates were sold to the Earl of Hopetoun. Cockburn died in his son's house in the Navy Office, London, England. He had firstly married Beatrix, daughter of

John Carmichael, 1st Earl of Hyndford John Carmichael, 1st Earl of Carmichael (28 February 1638 – 20 September 1710), known as Lord Carmichael between 1672 and 1701, when he was created the 1st Earl of Hyndford, was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He succeeded his grandfather, J ...

, by whom he had no issue and secondly married Arabella, the daughter and coheiress of Anthony Rowe of Muswell Hall, Middlesex, with whom he had a son. His natural son, George Cockburne (d.1770), was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and married Caroline, daughter of George Forrester, 5th Lord Forrester, with female issue.

References

External links

ElectricScotland Profile
* ''The House of Cockburn of that Ilk and Cadets Thereof'', by Thomas H. Cockburn-Hood (Edinburgh, 1888), page 156. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, John 17th-century births 1758 deaths People from Ormiston Lords of the Admiralty Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Politics of East Lothian Scottish agronomists Scottish businesspeople

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...